As the Fields Half Disappear
by AliLamba
Summary: 2 of ?, 1xR // I'm actually venturing into the land of overused 1xR plots here: Relena has run away, leaving Heero desperate to find her. What he couldn't accept was that she didn't want to be found. Rated for slight use of language and sexual nature.
1. Daylight Slipping Away

**AS THE FIELDS HALF DISAPPEAR  
(part one)  
by:** AliLamba  
**an:** the title is a homage (see: rip-off) to a Hayden lyric, which is from a really good song. (Jacks PATRIOTJACKIE from FFnet _really really really_ likes it. Such a wonderful beta _**pet pet**_) Don't own the characters, etc. Not mine. Unless Bandai is willing to wager a shoot-off in the O.K. Corral! In which case this will be my last post. Farewell, sweet readers, and enjoy you some drama. This is a _really_ overused plot, but for some reason I started writing it…and it just kept going --; I don't know what to blame, but I'm working on that. Also should mention, this is probably going to be more adult than anything I've ever written, not really in a lemon sense (because I knows you horny 13-yos read those anyway!), but in a...ah, I guess I can't give it away yet. Ah well, hope you enjoy.

* * *

_"daylight slipping away,  
__down a mountainside,  
over the trees and their lines,  
and I look out past your eyes,  
through the windows I stare,  
as the fields half disappear,  
so much beauty out there,  
as the shadows reach for the bar,  
the place turns yellowish-like,  
and everything seems alright,  
except that this is the last day I get to spend with you,  
and now it's dark and it's through  
I should have been watching you."_

* * *

Wisps of hair flew across her face, tresses dancing in the breeze as her smile warmed the wind. She held out her hand to him, her palm cupping the air, and he found himself following, drawing her fingers between his larger ones. He pulled her into his embrace and watched her face huddle against his chest, her eyelashes fall upon her cheeks. 

"It's going to rain."

She laughed softly at his statement, a melody bubbling through his shirt.

"You just have to ruin the moment, don't you?" She looked up at him, face upturned to meet his gaze,

"I suppose that's just how you are."

He kissed her then, meaning to be sweet but shattering the moment with broad sweeps of his tongue. She had moaned against his lips, her shoulders hunched to lend to the arms she had wrapped around his neck and shoulders, fingers tangled in his hair and the material of his shirt.

"Yes…I suppose…it will rain."

She had something to tell him.

"Heero—"

Her mouth curved over the word, the breath escaping her chest: _he_, and then _ro_.

"Heero"

The sound was pleasing from her lips.

"Heero"

"_Heero_"

"**HEERO**"

Heero leapt from his desk—fists flew from their clenched position and latched onto the first thing they found, strangling with every muscle of their fingers.

"_Heero_!"

Wide, purple-blue eyes and a taut grin came into focus, palms framing the face from either side of a chestnut-haired head.

"H-hey…yer…yer chokin'…me…"

Heero's grip slackened on the scruff of Duo's faded t-shirt, the cotton material slipping through his fingers as he lowered Duo back to solid ground. Heero's piercing blue eyes looked away from Duo's ugly mug, back at the mass of monitors he had been staring at when he…when he must have fallen asleep. His eyes narrowed as he tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but it was fading too quickly… The pinkness of her cheeks lingered, but that was all.

Duo reached to rub grudgingly at his neck as Heero turned his back to him. He could tell Duo was evaluating his mental state again. He had seen that look many times in the past twenty-three months, when the confidence, the absolute _knowing _she was close...had turned unknowingly into sheer desperation. Heero had memorized that look when he was going 80 hours without sleep, trying to stomach food that always turned to ash in his mouth.

"Uh…" Duo began, leaning to the side to try to catch Heero's eye, "Well, Zechs called. He wants us to meet him in his office… Said it was pretty urgent…"

The last word seemed to jilt Heero out of his reverie, and in a half a second Heero was filling a nondescript manila folder with the contents previously scattered across his desk. He straightened his Preventer-issued jacket and flicked dust off the cuff...

Heero's hand lingering for the briefest of moments as his eyes went dark…The image of her eyes came back…they mirrored the pools of rain…rain that would soon be splashing over her hair, and her shoulders, down the length of her back…

He could…he could barely remember that day now.

* * *

Duo's tune escaped between his pinched lips as he and Heero traveled through the hallways, his whistle sparing toothy grins for the cute interns and small nods for the peers. They slid into an empty elevator together.

"So, what're the odds we're in there again for anything _other_ than that guy's sister?" Duo grinned wearily at his own cheek. "Because I swear, if half the Earths Sphere's scum had as much attention as the two of you spend on that girl, crime would not _exist_. Like, _period_."

Duo emphasized this by cocking an imaginary gun with his left hand.

_Bam - bam - bam - bam._

"It's not like she even _wants to be found_, anyway. I mean, you guys _know_ she's alive, with the press releases and whatever…"

Heero spared a sidelong glance at his companion, who was busy inspecting the marks his imaginary bullets had made on the elevator doors.

"You might as _well_ leave her alone, ya know?"

The muscles in Heero's jaws tightened. He tried to remember her clouded eyes.

* * *

"You look terrible, Yuy," Zechs mentioned without looking up. A dull roar hummed from the open space outside the commander's office.

Before Duo could close the door behind them, something small pushed past him, feet skipping over themselves to their superior behind the desk. A young man spared a glance at the visitors before dipping down to whisper frantically to the Major. The cadet dropped a manila folder that had been previously tucked under his arm, and scampered out again. The thick noise from the adjoining room came to an abrupt halt when the door connected with its jamb.

Flexing his thumb, Zechs spewed the new contents onto the desk.

The sound of the flimsy glossed paper touched the metallic finish on Zech's desk, and the room allowed a collective pause. The sound of the wall-clock ticking the seconds sounded with dull, aching _thuds_, as if it were chopping wood.

_It was Relena._

One of the three swallowed to relieve their dry throat.

"Have either of you ever been to a place called 'Montana'?"

Duo was frowning deeply. His lips scrunched to the side, he turned his face from the photos to the ceiling, an irritated tick at his temple.

"That's in what, former Cana—?"

"United States." Zechs corrected curtly, having long since calmed the urge to throttle Duo at his attempts with geography. "Northern United States, West of the Great Lakes. Completely landlocked with one of the smallest populations by area, and yet with one of the largest territorial land masses. I want you two to leave imme—"

"Aw, come **on** **man**! _Puh-lease_ not another goose chase!"

Two pairs of cold eyes pinned Duo into silence.

But Duo apparently didn't feel like responding to them right now. He flopped unceremoniously into one of the flimsy chairs opposite of Zechs' desk.

"Remember _L4_, man? And fuckin' **Mongolia**?"

Zechs and Heero's eyes met over the chestnut hair, both jaws locked with irritation.

"_No way_, man. You _both_ know she's probably gone by now! That's probably not even her! I have _better_ goddamn things to do than go chasing after this fuckin' wet dream."

"_Shut the fuck up, Duo_."

Heero felt the last syllable leave his lips, when he realized the pain in his right hand was from strangling the butt of his gun. His pulse was throbbing against his throat, letting it burn.

Silence crept into the room, Duo shaking off the stares of both the men and turning his attention to the far wall with a sardonic sneer. Heero's face was taut as he turned back to the older man, who was in turn staring at the back of Duo's head.

"This picture was taken three hours ago. Agent Barton _knows_ it's her."

The icy blue stare of the Lightning Count made its way to Heero Yuy.

"We found her, Heero. We found her."

* * *

"It's just…Well _jeezus._" Duo let his gaze float out of focus as he stared past Heero's left shoulder, lost in his own thoughts amid the emptiness of the abandoned break room, "How long has it been?"

Heero rubbed his thumb over the base of his coffee mug, long since feeling warmth emanate from the chipped ceramic.

"Two years."

"_Jeezus,_" Duo let out with a whistle, allowing the silence to take over once more.

"…I know."

"It's just—well, _damn!_" Heero felt the muscles of his jaw flex.

Duo fixed his old friend with a sudden glare.

"You _know_ she doesn't want to be found, right."

Heero felt the burn of shame rush through his system. Yes, he knew. And he knew the irony of his situation: him now the follower, wanting to catch a mere glimpse or be near to her. But when she had disappeared…after everything…_it's_ _my fault_…

_I should have been watching you._

"Well, you're going anyway, and if you _do_ find her, then that's just one less thing I have to worry about," Duo rationalized, taking a strong sip of his milky coffee. "When do you leave?"

Heero paused, taking an irrationally slow sip of his cold coffee. "Tonight."

"Yeah, I suppose it'll take you a while to get there. I would ask if you had a plan, but I suppose again that you probably do."

Duo dropped his mug to the table and picked up the paperwork he had come in with, touching two fingers to his temple in a small salute.

"Well good luck, I guess. Tell her I said hello."

Duo's steps carried his smiling visage outside of the small break room, until the door swung shut behind him. In a quick moment, the smile dropped from his face, and a grim expression took hold. Heero was _going_ to fuck this up, andDuo couldn't help doubtingthat _any_ of them would ever see the Princess again.

* * *

A slender woman dressed in jeans and a t-shirt pushed herself back againsta fridge, letting an elderly woman slip past as she balanced a large platter of dinners. Bree gave her younger counterpart an apologetic smile as she squeezed pasttowards the dining room, and two clear blue eyes crinkled at the corners as the younger woman smiled kindly in return.

As she watched the older woman disappear through the swinging doors, her slim fingers plucked the thick woolen shawl off the worn chair by the telephone. She wrapped it quickly around her shoulders as she made her way, and pushed the back screen door open.

A strong, cool breeze rushed to meet her, tossing short wisps of hair around her face. Her chin tipped up to meet the gale with closed lips, though she tightened the dark brown wool around her shoulders.

Stars, millions of them, hung clearly in the crisp air, and a clean breath circulated through her system.

"_Lena?_"

The face whirled back to the crowded kitchen at the sound of the familiar voice. Her thoughts had run away with her again, as it was wont to do…looking at so many stars…

"Coming!" she called briskly in return, and her feet stepped carefully over the creaking planks beneath her feet. But then, she paused on the threshold.

A hand already resting on the door jamb, the young woman turned slowly on her heel, back out to the night sky beyond the back porch.

She reached out--a long, slender finger singling one of the brightly winking lights beyond her reach.

"_That one_," she whispered to herself. Then slowly, as if she were afraid to break the heavens themselves, a small, hidden smile grew upon her face.

* * *

**end notes:** Soooooo...that's it! for chapter one. I promise, I leave a lot of the political responsibility stuff out of this one, so hopefully that takes me in a slightly different direction than these usually go. If anything, hopefully this will herald my triumphant (or not so triumphant) return to writing!

Again, this story is going to probably be more adult than anything else I've written, so I suppose I should warn those of you 'youngins' (I'm really getting into this Montana scene) what you're getting into.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


	2. Down the Mountain Side

**AS THE FIELDS HALF DISAPPEAR  
(part two)  
by:** AliLamba  
**notes:** So this story is going to be pretty Relena-centric for awhile, so I hope everyone's okay with that. I guess. I mean, there's not much you can do about it, except…uhh…not read? Uhhhh, I also sort of messed with the timeline a little bit in the last chapter, as I realized some things as I started to tweak with this story more and more. Anyway, it's all good now, and I have a whole three pages of part 3, so yes! I stayed home "to study for my Tuesday midterm" but really just to post this. Okay, so really to study, but my procrastinating abilities ran out to the point where I actually wrote --; yeah, I know, not so funny. Oh, and the beginning of this gave me waaay too much trouble than I like to admit, so if anyone knows how I can fix Heero's inner monologue stuff x.o  
**thank you:** to PATRIOT JACKIE, my fabulous beta. Really, I'm getting all teary in gratitude, and I shouldn't. I just...heart you so much Jacks, and so this chapter is obviously dedicated to you. **Plaque**!

* * *

"_daylight slipping away,  
down a mountainside,  
over the trees and their lines,  
and I look out past your eyes,  
through the windows I stare,  
as the fields half disappear,  
so much beauty out there,  
as the shadows reach for the bar,  
the place turns yellowish-like,  
and everything seems alright,  
except that this is the last day I get to spend with you,  
and now it's dark and it's through  
I should have been watching you."_ -Hayden

* * *

The members of the shuttle were whispering inconspicuously amongst themselves, making anxious glances towards the dark-haired man sitting by himself. For a reason they couldn't identify, he made them nervous… 

Perhaps it was because of how still he was sitting, or how he hadn't moved in nearly four hours… Perhaps, they thought, he was dead, and they were all merely waiting for some confirmation of this. Regardless, in this section of the Inter-Space shuttle, not one headphone erupted music at an audible level, not one phone rang, and not one baby cried.

Heero cradled his head against its cushion, eyes closed, intending to impart to his fellow passengers that he was anything but obliged to interact with them. His mind was too busy working out the final details of his task, the inside of his cheek caught between his teeth as he brutally twisted the flesh.

The shuttle wouldn't arrive for another two hours, and then it would be another three to drive to the remote ranch…

_Relena…_

Heero was unfortunately aware of the way every heartbeat reached his ears, and how uncomfortably warm the palms of his hands had been since he had found that phone at the spaceport.

_He hadn't wanted to call. But it just hadn't seemed real._

"_Barton." He didn't know what to say. It just came out, and his throat was strangled in protest._

"_It's her, Heero," Trowa began, predicting his question, "She goes by 'Lena Miller' now."_

Lena.

_Trowa paused on the line, as if weighing his words._

"…_She's happy now, Heero. And she doesn't want us to know."_

With his eyes closed, it was easy to imagine the contours of her face, the way her skin felt against his palms. She smiled warmly into the callused contour of his hand, and her lips moved against his harsh flesh _to reply_…

"Would you like a coffee, sir?"

Cobalt eyes snapped open and received the vapid woman's face. She was holding a Styrofoam cup at him expectantly, and upon seeing him awake, filled it with the metallic brew.

Cup and napkin fell on his tray with a cream, sugar and napkin, the steward shuffling past him before he could bother to protest.

Heero looked back towards the window, at the inky blue sky alight with stars.

This is where he once felt an ache in his chest, as a hundred images and more would stream through his mind. By now his chest was a hollow, beating drum, always anticipating the harsh puncture of reality.

Thoughas empty as he mostly felt, he still could not forget her.

Heero couldn't help hating himself in that moment.

Zechs had fewer answers than Heero preferred, but the picture…With his free hand he reached into the inner pocket of his worn leather jacket, strewn on the empty seat beside him. His fingers already knew the edges of the photo, and his prints plucked the glossy parchment deftly.

Her hair was shorter now.

The ends dusted against her jaw line, askew as if caught in a slight breeze. She was looking up, at the sky, and the sun caught glints in her pale blue eyes. Over the bridge of her nose and across her cheeks…he could just make out the faintest trace of freckles…as if she had just been in the sun for the first time…

"Attention passengers: If you will please use this opportunity to gather your personal belongings... We will be beginning our descent shortly."

_God_…if he just closed his eyes…there were naked limbs entwined on a cheap mattress, somewhere out of the way of the former Russia's former capital, beads of sweat owing to the busted radiator. She lay half against his chest, a restful sleep inching to take hold…half-kisses pressed against his skin…an arm wrapped around his torso...

_I love you, Heero._

* * *

Relena awoke that morning as if bitten.

As she went about her morning rituals—showering, brushing her teeth, dressing in jeans and a thick flannel shirt—she couldn't help but notice how her brow would knit together of its own accord, or how her shoulders would stiff up suddenly, as if she had had a foul dream that she could not remember...as if the recesses were standing just behind her back, waiting to be rediscovered.

Even Bree noticed how hard she was staring at the farm eggs frying in the pan.

"Lena, hun, you got a stinger in your rear, or something?"

"Hmm?" Relena looked up, the eggs forgotten. Bree Harris, nearing sixty-five though any stranger would guess ten years younger, was giving Relena a look that mixed concern with a concern for her mental health. She tried to smooth the wrinkles in the older woman's forehead with a smile.

"Bad dream, I think," she explained.

Through the curtains she could see the pinks and golds of a sun waiting to push past its horizon. Any minute now she would hear footsteps coming up the dirt path to the kitchens, and the eggs she was willing to not overheat themselves would need to be ready for them.

"Ah, well, you might want to smarten up for Sethy pretty soon."

Relena didn't need to look up to hear the wink that was implied. Yes, she should probably smarten up for Seth Harris, though for reasons unfathomable, she couldn't keep her mind together. Rather than reveal herself, she shook her head fondly at Bree.

"That son of yours had better like me just the way I am," she chided, though she did turn off the burner and turn away from the stove.

"Hun, if I looked half as nice as you when I was your age," and the look Relena was sent told her exactly how long ago that was, "I would have been a polygamist."

Relena laughed softly to herself. And then she stopped.

The feeling came back again. Now she felt the blood throbbing through her veins as her breath sped up of its own accord.

She lifted her blonde head to the window and scanned the horizon. The scenery was as quiet and peaceful as ever—birds trying to get themselves heard as the morning sun startled them from sleep, horses whinnying softly in their stables. But _something_…

"Lena?"

As quickly as it had come, the feeling vanished, and Relena felt a wave of irritation as the moment was broken. Her teeth sucked in her bottom lip and held it there, though she shook her head dismissively.

A small girl in braids swung through the kitchen doors. "The cattle're a-comin'!"

Relena's confusion was distracted by the sound of heavy work boots upon squeaky wooden planks. With no more time to ponder the feeling, Relena and Bree set into the morning breakfast, ladling bowls of grits and platters of hash and bacon. Kitty hung by, as slight as she was, ready to take whatever she could carry out to the masses of the dining hall.

Ten minutes later found Relena and Bree standing over the kitchen counter sharing coffee, their morning task all but done. Relena was just pondering her afternoon plans when Kitty's infectious giggle bubbled over the din. Bree set her face in a scowl.

"That granddaughter of mine…" 

Relena smiled in what she hoped was sympathetic gesture. At only sixteen, brown-haired, brown-eyed Kitty was already campaigning to be the belle of the ball, just like her mother before her. Though if she was true to her mother's legacy, the young girl would be leaving before the alleged ball ever took place.

Relena picked up a coffee urn almost half-heartedly and headed out the kitchen doors, as much to warn Kitty to her grandmother's growing temper as to refill some mugs. No sooner was she out the swinging doors, however, than her name rang out from the nearest table.

"Lena! Get that pretty face over here with that coffee!"

Relena chuckled benignly and obliged, finding Evan easily with his mug in the air. Sandy-haired and handsome, he was typically hard to miss, and typically had more than one female eye upon him. As Relena had expected, she found Kitty hovering two feet away, trying in vainto hold his attention. But defore she had reached the table, the door to the house's private quarters swung open, and a striking head of brown hair and bright hazel eyes made its way towards them.

"Now, that is no way to speak to a lady."

"Seth," Evan quipped, ignoring the fact that this man was his superior and commander of his livelihood, "You know darn well that no lady either of us knows could ride a horse like Lena does. And someday, lady or not, you can bet I'm going to beat her in a most unladylike fashion."

Relena stuck her tongue out in a playfully impish way as she set down the tin coffee and allowed Seth to embrace her, relishing his clean scent and soft brown hair. He kissed her enthusiastically on the cheek, but kept it chaste in light of their public setting.

"Lena," Seth smiled, and before Relena could respond in kind, he hadpulled a daisy from behind his back in offering.

"_Pssssh_," Evan sounded as he turned away from them, and Relena didn't miss the way his eyes rolled over his left-over hash browns even as she accepted the small token and tucked it behind her ear.

"_Thank you_, Seth." Relena gave him her best smile.

"You _never_ have flowers for _me_," Kitty suddenly whined, making herself known as she walked over, pouting.

The senior Harris knocked Kitty on the head affectionately. "I had assumed, little lady, that as a Harris you would be able to find your own way to pamper yourself. Yet as my sister's child, I suppose it seemed more likely that you'd have your own handful of boys to take care of you."

Color rose to Kitty's cheeks, her small hands clenching into small fists. After sending a not-so-subtle look to the back of Evan's head, Kitty tossed a braid over her shoulder and marched off towards the kitchen.

Relena tried to give Seth a knowing smile, but he shook off her empathy.

Tilting her head to the side,Relena placed a hand on his arm, "Are you busy today?"

Seth took her hand and kissed her fingers delicately, eliciting a small smile from Relena.

"_Oh_, when am I not busy?" his voice was dramatic,and Evan snorted into his renewed cup of coffee. Seth grinned boyishly, but turnedas serious as he was able,"No, I only have to get that Maynor Rigsby on the vid link. I just know he's trying to low-ball me on that new pair of mares."

He was smiling at her, tucking strands of hair behind her ear to expose the pretty flower more, but Relena couldn't have heardhis last sentence if she tried. Her eyes had snaked back to the dining room door, absorbed by the line of gold that eked through the jamb.

* * *

Relena had switched into a sleeveless shirt by mid-morning, before she went about her chores. Afterputting together a shopping list with Bree and helping Kitty with a quick history and French lesson (which Kitty had stubbornly muddled through), Relena found herself on the front porch witha broom in her hands. Making wide, practiced sweeps, Relena surreptitiously hid the brushings under the stairs as a handful of farmhands walked past her towards the stables. Their passing conversation and casual 'hellos' made her pause, and, leaning on the broom, she found her gaze drawn again to the gate, feeling the now familiar and peculiar leap of her heart.

Relena's lips set themselves into a distasteful frown as she berated herself. What was wrong with her today? The nagging sense of forgetfulness washed over her, and even as Relena's insides felt cold, she forced herself to move again, brushing the dust out of the cracks in the wood. Before she knew it…

_She let her gaze drift out the window, watching someone she didn't recognize run a broom over the marble steps in an attempt to clean them. In the pre-dawn light they looked surreal, and in her exhaustion they looked almost imaginary. She felt a pang of sadness as she watched them, unseen, from her bedroom window. Tears suddenly pricked the corners of her eyes._

_Heero made a sudden movement behind her, and she felt him roll over and out of the bed they had shared the night before. Relena hastily closed her eyes, praying that she could at least feign sleep. She could hear him locate his clothes and dress in the darkness, and walk around the bed so as to see her face. The soft sound of folding cloth announced the fact that he had crouched so as to be on eye level._

_A tear leaked out of the corner of her closed eye and dripped off her nose, yet Heero made no attempt to wipe it away. He seemed to be waiting for her to acknowledge him, and Relena felt as if there was a chasm ripping her chest in two—she wanted to tell him, so very badly, but the words sounded so foolish and embarrassing in her mind. _Please_, she begged_, please just know…

Relena jumped out of her memory, biting her lip so hard she winced. It had been so long since she had thought of that moment, that very last morning. And suddenly, in spite of herself, in spite of the flower in her hair, the forgotten ache echoed in her chest.

The thought of the small white daisy grounded her, and she touched it absently. Seth had been so very good to her in the last six months. And as smitten as Seth was with her, why in the world would she be thinking about…_him_…on a beautiful day like today?

Relena mentally smacked herself and set about putting the broom away and seeking out a few baskets. In passing the kitchen she heard Bree giving her granddaughter her daily sermon, hearing Kitty's indignant sass in return. Relena knew that if caught she would be asked to help, as Kitty rarely listened to anyone, though occasionally 'Lena.'

Walking towards the chicken coop, egg baskets in hand, Relena once again felt a nagging sense of guilt. Sure, her creativity had simply run out by the time she had found Seth and his family's farm, and 'Lena' was honestly the first thing she had latched on to in the condition they had found her in. It was her own fault that she had to cover for inviting the comparison.

So lost in thought she was, that Relena wasn't aware that she was being approached until an arm snaked around her waist.

Relena jumped as if the arm was made of fire.

"Whoa there!"

It was Seth,

"Whoa now…"

Relena held her free hand to her chest, as if trying to make sure the air was making itself into her lungs. Under Seth's probing stare, however, she managed to let her arm down and smile.

"You scared me…" she murmured, trying to distract him from her shakes by resuming their walk. Seth skipped to match her pace, chuckling.

"No kidding."

Relena gave him a sidelong glance as he put his arm around her again. His face had strong wrinkles—the kind from smiling rather than aging, from a life without hardship but with hard work. He was kind, and a very good man, and Relena was slowly accepting that she could love him.

"So, I was thinking," Seth distracted Relena from her train of thought, and she noticed that his hand was making nervous circles over her side, "I was thinking that maybe we could try again."

Relena swallowed hard and tried not to trip over her feet. She should have been expecting Seth to bring up the subject again, and as much as she wanted to hide from the idea, she couldn't keep rejecting Seth's advances forever. She could only imagine what it was doing to him, breaking into tears whenever they tried to make love.

They had reached the chicken coop, and Relena walked away from Seth as much to collect the day's eggs as to secure some distance to think. He remained silent yet watchful, and Relena was thankful. She was thankful that he accepted the lie she had offered, that she didn't trust the way she could be touched. She was thankful that he hadn't tried to push her, and didn't ask questions. Relena was thankful for a man like Seth.

But she couldn't, try as she might, forget the way a certain other man had intimately touched her, had conducted her responses so perfectly that she hummed only from dwelling on the memories. Heero had known her body as much as she knew her own, and despite her most fervent desires, another man's touch felt simply mistaken.

Relena had filled both baskets by the time she had reached this conclusion yet again, though she realized she was merely stalling. She was about to turn around, and mumble some sort of reply, when she felt Seth's reassuring hands on her shoulders, his lips on her hair.

"It's okay Lena," he murmured, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, holding her backsecurely against his chest, "forget I even mentioned it."

Relena felt a pang of remorse at his kindness, and turned her head to kiss his cheek, then his lips. "No, I'm sorry.

"I'm sorry this is so…so hard for me. Please, I promise, I want that sort of relationship as much as you do," she said truthfully, "I just…wasn't expecting it to take this long."

Seth didn't say anything, though she could hear him exhale with a resigned understanding.

Lena didn't move as she waited for his formal reaction.

He turned her around in his arms and kissed her full on the lips. When he pulled away, there was a smile on his face.

"Then we try again as soon as you're ready, Lena," Relena smiled feebly in return, "But please, please understand how humbling this is to a man."

Relena laughed out loud at how genuinely earnest he looked, and they walked back towards the farm house hand in hand, both carrying an egg basket to the world.

"_Seth! Lena!_" Bree's unmistakable voice carried over to the couple, and both looked up, a little surprised by her urgency. The elder Harris bounced towards them, and Seth released Relena's hand to meet his mother half-way. Suddenly their voices were hushed as they conversed, though Relena knew enough diplomacy not to interrupt them. When Bree not-so-subtly looked around her son at Relena, however, she found herself in motion.

"What's going on?"

Seth turned around, a slight frown knitting his eyebrows, "I thought you didn't have any relatives?"

Relena froze.

_No_.

And suddenly, the feeling of unease flooded her stomach; the feeling that she now realized was dread. The tiny hairs on her arms stood on end, and her hands went cold. Without having to be told, Relena felt where to look, and her eyes swept away from Seth and Bree of their own accord.

There, by the front gate, was Heero Yuy.

* * *

**AN:** YES! Even my BETA says that's a good cliffhanger! I am awesome! _ahem_, Okay, sorry, overly gloating here. This I understand. But I do really hope you enjoyed it, and you should understand that it's pretty much only an enjoyable read because of my LOVELY, LOVELY beta, PatriotJackJack. So go read her fics, because they're SOMUCHBETTER than mine :DD /end pimpage.  
**next chapter:** Relena's back-story! Drama galore, other pilots galore, and a mysterious woman named…_Virginia_. OooOoOOOOOOoooooooooooooooo. …Oo.

Thank you for reading!


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